His hands were cold again tonight. He hardly knew her, but he grasped at her nevertheless, his dull eyes staring as if searching for answers in the darkness. She was his lifeline. The only thing keeping him from tipping into insanity, and the guilt that would always haunt him.
But, Holly supposed, Artemis wasn't the only guilty one.
He was recovering. Slowly - painfully slowly - but bit by bit, the memories trickled back to him, jabbing at him with fingers of self-deprecating anger or fragmented trust. She would wake up at her post by his bedside to find Artemis laughing with tears in his eyes, or gripping the headboard in utter terror. Broken bits of sentences would come to him now and then. "Turnip soup." "Fair maiden." "Flatulence."
Once at the dinner table, he poked at a bit of broccoli for at least five minutes before lifting his fork and announcing, "I couldn't do without you."
Foaly snorted. He was finding more and more excuses to show up at the Fowl Manor from time to time. "Good thing, too. All that Vitamin C isn't just gonna fly itself to your stomach, y'know."
Holly merely pressed her napkin to her mouth, hoping it hid the redness creeping across her cheeks.
And then there was the time Commander Kelp showed up on the latest magma flare, with a full escort team of fifteen LEP members. A fuzzy creature was cradled in his arms, twitching curiously. Wordlessly and with a small smile, Trouble handed it to Artemis.
Artemis looked at the creature for a moment, blue eyes wide with amazement, and when his tongue seemed to be working again he choked out -
"Jayjay?"
Holly couldn't remember the last time she had cried like this.
They all showed up to see him, one by one. Mulch. Doodah Day. Even Minerva Paradizo materialized in her silver limousine, blonde curls bouncing in that infuriating way of hers. She stormed out in a huff several minutes later, indignant at Artemis's adamant proclamations that he'd never seen her before in his life. But a small wink at his best friend told Holly all she needed to know.
Still, there were some things Holly didn't want Artemis to remember. Not that she minded the expression on Grub Kelp's face, as she strolled past with half a ton of twenty-four carat gold being towed behind her in the LEP aircraft. But things worse than the ransom were coming back to Artemis now. Like watching Butler die in front of him, twice. Or witnessing the murder of his friends as they tumbled through Limbo. Or worse still... The technology crash.
Holly hadn't been expecting the tightness of his hand on her arm as it shot out for support. He was suddenly gasping, eyes stretched wide. The clean slate of his newly cloned face was suddenly awash with terror.
"There were people in airplanes!" He cried. "In buildings reinforced with fairy technology. Sitting at home with their computers or television. I killed them, Holly! Innocent people!"
Holly stumbled, trying to keep the tall human from collapsing. "Artemis - it's okay, just sit down - it'll be all right -"
"It's not all right!" he screamed. "Hundreds of THOUSANDS of innocent people! Maybe millions! I killed them, I'm worse than Opal Koboi, I'm worse than anyone, I'm a mass murderer..."
He collapsed, harsh sobs forcing their way out of his body. Holly knelt and hugged him tightly, unable to stop the moisture from blossoming in her eyes as well. "Artemis, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do. Opal is the one who killed them."
Artemis opened his mouth to protest, but he choked.
"Besides..." Holly hesitated. "It's hard to say this, but the world really is better off this way. Not just concerning overpopulation. We've had to start from scratch, and humanity is using greener, more peaceful solutions for rebuilding. Thanks to you, the planet is no longer being destroyed. And most fairies don't want to eliminate humanity anymore."
"There had to be a better way," Artemis whispered, clutching the stairwell, but refusing to release Holly's arm. "I inadvertently brought back Opal just to save one person. My mother. And thanks to that, so many innocents were killed."
"Yeah, well..." Holly touched the skin beneath her blue eye regretfully. "You're not the only one with unforeseen repercussions."
They stared for what seemed like ages, searching each other's faces for something inexpressible. What Holly saw broke her heart. The boy before her wasn't Artemis. The smooth, unblemished skin; the eyes that looked so unfamiliar with no trace of hazel. The broken vulnerability in his gaze. Help me, he was screaming. Save me from myself.
"How ironic," Artemis murmured as his fingers hovered over Holly's temple, close enough that she could feel his coldness. "That the only part left of me, is in you."
"I don't think it's ironic at all, Mud Boy," Holly said with a wavering smile. "After all, you've always completed me."
"Is that so?" For an instant, his smile almost looked like the old one. Not the vampiric smirk of a boy with nothing to lose. It was the increasingly familiar smile of someone who had already sacrificed too much. "Well, Captain, let it be known that you never did look like a Flyboy to me so much as a friend."
She couldn't help but kiss him for that.
A/N: Random, somewhat cliche drabble written a few months ago becauseIneededclosure. The Last Guardian completely destroyed me D:
Eoin Colfer, if I ever reach a sixth of your greatness, I shall be happy forever. Thank you for enriching my childhood and supplying me with my very first OTP, even if you did have to emotionally scar me on the ferry ride to Catalina. Also thanks for creating the first ever series of any kind in which the main character was my favorite.
Anyway, I hope you guys like it! Reviews are always appreciated :)